Disability Support Services
Faculty/Staff Responsibilities
Faculty members have several responsibilities regarding the accommodation process.
- Faculty/staff should establish a cooperative atmosphere when dealing with students with disabilities. Interact with students with disabilities in the same manner as other students, but be clear that you are willing to provide necessary accommodations.
- Faculty/staff should refer students who disclose a disability or request accommodation to the Disability Support Services Office (Main Hall, lower rear entrance; 665-6250; mccuned@montevallo.edu or vdubose@montevallo.edu). Faculty are encouraged to actively assist students to make contact with the DSS office and to consider documenting such referrals.
- Contact the DSS Director, Deborah McCune, with any questions or concerns regarding the implementation of accommodations. Accommodations should not alter essential elements of the course/curriculum. If a faculty member believes that a request is not reasonable in his/her class, the DSS office should be contacted immediately. Do not simply refuse the student’s request without this contact.
- Faculty are responsible for discussing/signing Classroom Accommodation Letters prepared by the DSS office. There is no obligation to provide accommodation to students who do not follow this process after being referred to DSS. However, some matters of equal access may be obvious and should not be refused based on lack of paperwork (such as maintaining accessible routes in and out of classrooms, simple requests to remove a textbook from a wheelchair backpack, etc.).
- Faculty should include the following statement in course syllabi regarding the provision of accommodations:
The University of Montevallo provides equal opportunity to qualified students. If you have a disability (medical, physical, learning, psychological, etc.) and wish to request disability-related accommodations to complete course requirements, contact Disability Support Services (located in Main Hall, rear entrance; 665-6250). Course requirements cannot be waived, but reasonable accommodations may be provided based on disability documentation and course objectives. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively.